1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to baked goods and, more specifically, to a Cake Making Method.
2. Description of Related Art
A virtually limitless variety of edible confections have been made both by home bakers and professional bakers for all time. In order to further add flavor, texture and overall desirability to many of these items, they can be filled with some sort of filling, such as fruit jam, frosting, custard, etc. Filled doughnuts are particularly common. In practice, doughnuts are filled after baking by squeezing the filling through a hole poked in the side of the doughnut until a cavity formed within the doughnut is adequately filled.
Unlike doughnuts, cakes have typically been covered on their outside surfaces with frosting, but have not had any filling put inside of them. The most common “filling” method for cakes is the layer cake, wherein layers of frosting and cake are stacked up to form the cake. Where cakes have been filled with filling material, it's been accomplished as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view depicting one conventional approach to filling cakes. Here, the cake 10 (a bundt-style cake) is being filled by squeezing the liquid filling into an aperture 14 formed in the side of the cake 10 using a pastry bag 12. As with filled doughnuts, the cake 10 is fully cooked prior to its being filled. There are at least two problems with this approach: first, particularly in the case of a bundt cake, it is impossible to fill the entire interior of the cake 10 by injecting through a single aperture 14; this means that several apertures 14 must be formed around the outer surface of the cake 10, thereby making unsightly scars on the surface of the cake. Second, this process is an added step in the preparation of the cake that could tend to be very time-consuming.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view depicting another conventional approach to filling cakes. In this other prior method, the cake 10 is cut around its periphery to form a top half 16 and a bottom half 18. Next, a depression 20 is formed in the bottom half 18 and/or the top half 16. The filling material is then squeezed or otherwise placed in the depression 20 and the halves 16 and 18 are reassembled. This prior method suffers from the same problems as does the approach discussed above in connection with FIG. 1.
For the purpose of later comparison herein, FIG. 3 depicts the steps of these two prior methods 22. First, the ingredients are mixed to form a batter 100. Next, the batter is placed into a form 102, such as a shaped cake pan. Next, the batter is baked while being held within the form 104. Once fully baked, the cake is removed from the form 106 and allowed to cool sufficiently to handle.
When cooled sufficiently, either the filling method of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is employed. First, an aperture is formed in the cake 108; next, the cake is partially filled with filling material through the aperture via a pastry bag 110. These steps are repeated 112 around the cake until the desired amount of filling has been added to the cake.
If choosing the second filling method, the cake is first butterflied 114 (i.e. cut in two halves). Next, depression(s) are dug out in one or both halves 116. The depression(s) are then filled with filling material 118, and the cake is reassembled 120.
Neither of these prior cake baking and filling methods are suitable to easily create an aesthetically pleasing, filled cake.